Cynthia Merrill Projects is an organization that is available to assist you in the development of your new or existing dance business or in the sale of your dance school, performing arts school, gymnastics' school, music school, art school or any business catering to the educational needs of children. This is one of the areas of expertise in which Cynthia Merrill excels as a business consultant. She will personally guide you in how to develop your school or a program for children.

Cynthia has been in business for over 40 years. In 2007 Cynthia was awarded the most prestigious business award in Central California, The Central Californis Excellence in Business, Hall of Fame Award; in 2005 was recognized as one of Fresno's Top Ten Business and Professional Woman of the Year.

As a business consultant, Cynthia will come to your place of business, dance studio or children's business facility and evaluate your use of space, your staff and the image you present. She will recommend activities or classes that can be included in your program; help you design an educationally strong program of arts activities or dance classes for your existing students. If you are starting a new business, she can assist you from the ground up (including marketing ideas) and help you to have a profitable business immediately. If you are selling your business, she can help develop a five-year plan for exiting with a successful sale.

Why could your school benefitFrom Cynthia Merrill's assistance?

Most dance and art's school do not realize their full potential in class offerings or in the best use of their space in their buildings. Cynthia Merrill can assist you in your planning, finding your teachers and in your publicity campaigns. She can help you to design a young children's dance program that will set the groundwork for your business. If you have a strong curriculum for young children, your business has a foundation upon which to build. Children will come to your school first and then continue in your school for years to come. Your enrollment will increase and continue to increase for many years. When it is time to sell your business, Cynthia can help! She successfully sold her school in March of 2006.

Success Stories

Cynthia assisted a dance school in Visalia, California to develop a new curriculum for their young children's program and the school tripled their enrollment.

In Cincinnati, Ohio at the Queen City Gymnastics' Center ,Inc. Cynthia consulted with and helped their newly hired dance teacher to develop and organize a dance program for the gymnastics' school that has evolved into a thriving part of the school with over 400 dance students. Cynthia Merrill's early childhood dance program and performance venue of story ballets are still in existence and those programs have contributed greatly to the success of the dance school within the gymnastics facility.

Most recently Cynthia Merrill was a consultant to a Master's Degree candidate at Stanford University who was developing the foundation for a Performing Arts School to open in the Bay Area of California. In all of the research the Masters Degree candidate conducted she was not able to find a private dance or performing arts school that included all the arts under one roof; that had the variety of classes that the Cynthia Merrill School included in its program;or the number of performance venues. Cynthia spent many hours discussing and working with this young women on the foundation for a performing arts school.

Cynthia Merrill was recently a recital and performance consultant for a dance school in Northern California, helping the school develop a recital format as a story ballet where all children and different dance forms were included in the story ballet.

The following is a summary of the performing arts school that Cynthia Merrill developed in Fresno, California. Please feel free to contact Cynthia Merrill for a discussion of your existing school or your future school.(LINK TO CONTACTS)

Cynthia Merrill School of Performing ArtsFounded in 1970 -Sold in 2006

Cynthia Merrill has created and owned three schools of dance: one in Amherst, Massachusetts, a second studio in Austin, Texas and a third one in Fresno, California. The Cynthia Merrill School of Performing Arts in Fresno, California grew to be a business of 240 classes a week with a staff of 45 teachers and administrators and an enrollment of 800 to 1400 student hours a week. All the arts were taught under one roof (including foreign language). The school eventually expanded into a 1600 square foot facility with its' own theater.

Classes offered were in all forms of dance and ethnic dance. Included in the class offerings were visual art classes; instrumental music classes and voice; acting and creative dramatics classes; musical theater productions and plays. The school produced from six to eight dramatic productions a year; a full-length story ballet; special dance concerts of individual artist's choreography and 13 mini ballets and presentations for younger and beginning students class work.

There were six individual dance companies that were available for performances in the community: ballet, ethnic dance, hip-hop, ballroom dance, tap and gymnastics. The ballet group performed excerpts from the previous year's story ballet.

In addition to all of the above, Cynthia Merrill personally taught a Cotillion program to 400 students a year of ballroom/contemporary dance along with manners for ages 10 to 16. As well as the cotillion classes, there were etiquette workshops in table manners and traditional etiquette for ages 3 '/2 to adults

During the morning hours a pre-school arts program was in place for children age's two to five. The children (depending on their ages) could stay the full morning two days a week and study creative dance, creative dramatics, music, visual art, gymnastics and foreign language (either French of Spanish).

The possibilities for educational programs to be included in your school are never ending! Please contact Cynthia for her assistance. (Link to Contact Cynthia Merrill).